OTSTEE CULTTJEE COilMISSIOI^—MITsIJTES OF ETIDENCE. 
21 
501. Then if \ve have as good fixttening ground as they have in England, may not Xew South AVales Mi** P. James, 
become one of the largest oyster-producing countries in the -world ? I see no reason to prevent it. 
505. Do you not think that oysters are a commodity worth cultivating, seeing that in Baltimore, in U 1876. 
America, they have an export of oysters equal to the export of meat and wool from this country six or 
eight years ago ? I have no doubt it is well worth looking after, if we can only find suitable ground to lay 
the oysters on ; that is the difficulty. 
50G. It is well known what the suitable ground is, because wherever what is 
well 
known as London clay, of 
there arc the insects found 
which there is abundance in this country, is found, the oysters will do 
upon which the oyster loves to fiitten ? Yes, 
597. I am going to ask you a question, but you need not answer it if it affects your interests. I should 
like to have your candid opinion a.s to whether it is expedient and good policy on the part of the Govern¬ 
ment to lease such large blocks on the rivers, or whether it would be desirable to lease the rivers in 
smaller areas ? I believe you will get far more oysters by leasing them in large blocks, for many years to 
come, tb*an you would by dividing them into small blocks, and the longer the term of lease the more 
])eople will be induced to go into the business. 
598. I am only speaking now of the size of the areas. Instead of leasing the whole of a river in one 
block, don’t you think it would be good policy to divide the river into several blocks, so that there would 
be a number of lessees, instead of a few liaving the monopoly of the rivers as at present. Yon need not 
answer the question xinless you like? I see no reason for withholding my answer. I think it is far better 
to lease a river to one person than to cut it up into blocks. 
599. You do not think it desirable then to make any change in that respect ? I do not think so, and that 
is my candid opinion; 1 have no interest to serve in giving it. 
GOO. Have you any idea liow many oysters can be placed upon one acre of ground for fattening ? A 
great many can be spread on one acre. 
GOl. Should you think one million too many ? I should not think it was ; but it would all depend upon 
the richness of the ground, just the same a.s cattle runs. Some ground would fatten half a dozen cattle 
where other ground would not fatten one. Certain creeks will fatten oysters and others will not. 
G02. In England there arc oyster merchants who have onlv about 1- or 5 acres of fattening ground, which 
have belonged ^to their families for centuries, and wbicli yield very luindsome returns. Now, if the 
Government were to decide upon leasing them for long periods, don’t you think that small blocks— 
seeing that one aci*o wnll fatten a million oysters—could be leased to advantage ? If you could find 
suitable ground, and there were plenty of it, they might, but as 1 cannot speak to that I cannot answer 
the question. 
G03. Do you sec any objection to the Government granting licenses to persons to take oysters off the 
rocks and mangi*oves, in order to sell them to those who have wliat are termed “layings” or laying grounds 
for fattening? No, I don't see any objection to the taking them off the rocks, where we never look for 
them at present. 
(501. These oysters ai*e at present going to waste, and they do not come to a good size ? Not all of 
them going to waste, because when they come to a proper size we take them and send them to market. 
G05. Are not these veiy small oysters, such as we have seen on this table, which are sent to iSydney, most 
of them mere skin and xvater? No, I do not think so ; some of them are as fat as any others. 
COG. Not those which are high xip on the rocks ? Of course they are not so fat. 
G07. Do they ever become fat ? I have not bad experience enough to answer that question. 
608. AYould not remunerative employment be found for a number of persons if the Government were to 
issue licenses, in the same wav timber licenses are issued, to persons who would collect these young 
oysters from the rocks and sell them ? If you could find good ground to fatten the oysters 1 have no 
doubt it would in some few years time, but at present 1 don’t think so. AVe want first to find out the 
i)ropcr places to put them on. 
GOO. Hon. J. B. Wilson.'] Supposing that your beds at Port Stephens, at the end of three years, were to 
turn out good, fat, marketable oysters, would you then have any objection to buy spat ? AVe have plenty 
there that we can utilize if we find it answer. 
610. But you have to collect it, and to pay for the collection, have you not? Yes. 
Gil. Therefore you would he able to pay these licensed persons for collecting it ? Oli, yes, when we 
found it answer we should have no objection to pay the expense of collecting it. 
G12. Ciiairmati.] Are there any mud fiats on the rivers you lease? 1 have no doubt there are. 
613. Have you any idea of the nature of them? AYe have never looked for them ; that is just the fact of 
G14. Don’t you think a great many of the oysters that grow on the rocks and mangroves could be laid 
down with great advantage on these mud flats? AYcll, sir,'you ought to be the best judge of that. 
(515. Yes, Init I am putting the question to you. Have you bad any experience of them? No, I have 
not.' I still believe that there are places, if we could find them, on which all these oysters might be 
put, but we xvnnt to knoxv a great deal more about them before we can manage to plant them so as to 
make it pay us. , , , . ^ ^ • ■ x- * />. * . 
616. I told you at the commencement that the object of the Government in appointing thvs Commission 
was to obtain tliat information? Y^es. Then I would suggest to you that it would he better to get bold 
of some of our best oystermeii, men who have had exjierieiiee in^ dredging these rivers ; they know what 
soil they lift the oysters from, and they can give you tar better information than we cau.^ 
Gl7. Now, with respect to the stealing of oysters, do you think that in any new Bill provision should be 
made to protect the lessee or proprietor? AYcll, it would be quite necessary, if you could find out how 
618. Is it desirable to make some such provision as is made to prevent cattlc-stculiiig—both in the Cuttle- 
slaughtering Bill and the Droving Bill. There must be a license for slaughtering, and the diwer is 
required to produce a pass, and so on. Dw you think it desirable to iniroducc in any new Bill some 
similar provision to prevent oyster-stealing ? A'^es, if it could be done, but I can t see bow it could be 
done. , . • • 1 
619. It would effectually put a stop to oyster-stealing ? I think it miglit. Of course the oysters from 
any of the leased rivers can only be sent to the market by some vcpel, and if a man had a certificate that 
lie had obtained his oysters from us, there would he an end of it at once ; no other person could fetch 
those oysters away except the man who had the certificate. 
G20. 
